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Do you decorate yourself with Swiss feathers and produce abroad? This is prohibited by Swiss law. Toblerone feels the same these days. With the opening of the production facility in Bratislava, the chocolate maker no longer meets the strict Swiss criteria.
Therefore, Toblerone parent company Mondelez has to change the packaging of its famous chocolate triangles. The Matterhorn writing on the packaging needs to go. Also, chocolate can no longer be labeled “Swiss made”. Even if the group wanted to keep its old location in the west of the city of Bern, and only part of it was made by Slovakia.
Not everyone is even allowed to advertise with Tell
In the context of the Coat of Arms Act, the Swissness template is primarily about protecting the Swiss brand abroad. No one should advertise if there is no Swiss quality.
Therefore, the Swiss cross or other symbols may appear on food only if at least 80 percent of the raw materials come from Switzerland. All raw materials in cheese and dairy products must be domestic.
The law introduced an exception for the world-famous Swiss chocolate. To decorate yourself with Swiss, only the recipe and production should be Swiss. This was Toblerone’s demise. Because images such as the Swiss cross, Matterhorn, Wilhelm Tell or Helvetia are also considered signs of Swiss origin.
The Swiss Coat of Arms is reserved for the Confederation.
The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs estimates the bonus earned from the “Made in Switzerland” sales stamp for some products at up to 20 percent of the sales price. When it comes to luxury products, people have to pay up to 50 percent more when they are made in Switzerland compared to similar products of other origin.
Swiss rules also determine who is allowed to wear the Swiss cross. Private companies can use it, but not the Swiss coat of arms: it is reserved as a national emblem for the federal government and its officials.
An exception was made for the knife company Victorinox. This was allowed to emboss the Swiss coat of arms on pocket knives with an official blessing. It can also be used by the Swiss Alpine Club, the Swiss Touring Club and the Ski Association.
Some people don’t realize that in Switzerland you also have to pay attention to the Swiss rules. According to the Intellectual Property Institute’s announcement last year, around 20 cases of illegal use of the Swiss coat of arms have been dealt with in Switzerland each year since 2019, when the statute of limitations expired. Around ten cases would be condemned abroad.
The logo on the beer glasses was supposed to disappear
For example, Brasserie Federal, the Zurich train station restaurant, had to change its logo. Although the Candrian family has run the restaurant for nearly 100 years, the Federal Administrative Court concluded that the brasserie was not considered a traditional company. Because of this, the restaurant had to remove the Swiss cross from its logo. And the old logo also had to be removed from the beer glasses and menu card.
US mobile home rental company Road Bear has received a warning from the Bern federal government for illegally using the Bern crest for its logo.
And even with satire, the law has already been enforced: climate activists received intense letters for mocking the federal government in a video that wasn’t meant to be serious, and also for briefly displaying the Swiss coat of arms. They also violated the Gun Protection Act.
Source :Blick
I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.
